FALSE COGNATES

There are literally thousands of words that are the same or similar in
appearance in English and Spanish, and have the same meaning in
both languages (“cognates”). There are also, however, many
instances where appearances are deceiving and words that look alike
are quite different in meaning (“false cognates”). The following list
includes some of the most common false cognates, also known as
“false friends:”

la acción
In addition to meaning “action” in Spanish, it is also used in business
to mean “share,” “stock.” Las acciones de la compañía = “the
company’s stock” (or “shares”).

actual
In Spanish, means “present,” “current,” and not “actual” as we use it
in English, which in Spanish is instead real, verdadero. e.g. El
presidente actual no ejerce el verdadero poder = “The current
presidente does not exercise the actual power.” Notice how Spanish
uses verdadero = “true”, instead of actual, which instead of meaning
“real” as it does in English, would only have the meaning of “present”
or “current” in Spanish.
e.g. actualmente: “at the present time;” en realidad, de veras,
realmente = “actually.”

asistir
In Spanish, means “to attend,” not “to assist,” and requires the
preposition a before a noun. e.g. Casi nunca asiste a sus clases =
“He almost never attends class”. “To assist,” with the meaning in
English of “to help,” is ayudar.

el colegio
General term for “school,” or often, “high school”. Does not mean
“college,” which in Spanish is la universidad.

una conferencia
This may mean “conference” as we know it in English, with the
meaning of a “convention;” it has another, often-used meaning in
Spanish, which in English would be a “lecture” by a professor or a
public speaker.

la decepción
Means “disappointment” and sometimes “a feeling of having been
deceived;” “deception” in Spanish, however, is usually translated as
“engaño.”

una desgracia
Means “misfortune,” not necessarily “disgrace.” ¡Qué desgracia! =
What a misfortune! desgraciadamente: “unfortunately.” A “disgrace”
= una deshonra.

un disgusto
Means “unpleasantness,” “annoyance” as opposed to “disgust,”
which is translated into Spanish as asco. Me da asco = “It disgusts
me.” e.g. Tuve un disgusto con mi cuñado. = “I had an unpleasant
incident with my brother-in-law.”

embarazada
Does not mean “embarrassed,” which in Spanish is avergonzado/a,
desconcertado/a, or turbado/a. Está embarazada is one way of
saying “She’s pregnant” in Spanish.

el éxito
Means “success.” e.g. Su nueva comedia tuvo un gran éxito. = “His
new play was a great success.” Not to be confused with an “exit”,
which in Spanish is salida.

fastidioso
“Annoying,” “bothersome.” Fastidiar is a commonly used verb; e.g.
No me fastidies. = “Don’t bother (annoy) me.” Likewise, the noun is
(un/el) fastidio. Es un fastidio. = “It’s a bother (nuisance,
inconvenience).” It is difficult to find an equivalent for “fastidious” in
Spanish. Several possibilities are melindroso, quisquilloso, exigente,
difícil de complacer.

una firma
“Signature.” A “business firm” is compañía or casa (comercial).
una grosería
The adjective grosero means “rude” or “course” and a grosería is
“rudeness” or “coarseness.” Not to be confused as a translation of
the English word “grocery,” which is known by a various terms
depending on the country/region of the Hispanic world where it is
used. Usually una tienda de ultramarinos in Spain, it is una tienda
de abarrotes in Mexico; una bodega in Cuba and Venezuela; un
almacén in Argentine, Uruguay and Chile; un colmado in Puerto Rico.

el idioma
In English, translates as “language”. What we call an
“idiom” in English, on the other hand, is modismo in Spanish; e.g.
Hay muchos modismos en cada idioma. = “There are many idioms
in every language.”

un indiano
This is a special term used to refer to a Spaniard who went to the
Spanish colonies in the New World and returned to Europe with great
wealth. A (North/South/Central)-American Indian is most frequently
referred to as un indígena or un indio; a person from the Indian
continent is also referred to as un indio.

introducir
Means “introduce” in the sense of “to bring up a topic in conversation”
(= introducir un tema) or “to stick in,” “to put into,” “to insert,” all
physical actions. “To introduce a person” in Spanish is presentar.

largo
Means “long” in English. “Large” is instead grande.

una lectura
Means “reading,” in English, not “lecture.” The word for “lecture” in
Spanish, as mentioned above, is conferencia.

la librería
= “bookstore.” “Library” is instead la biblioteca.

molestar
May mean “to molest” but more often is the equivalent of the English
“to bother,” “disturb,” “annoy.” e.g. Siento molestarlo = “I’m sorry to
bother you.” Another common phrase is No es ninguna molestia =
“It’s no trouble” (or “bother”).

oficio
= “trade, occupation.” “Office” is el despacho or la oficina.

el/la pariente
This is the general word for a “relative.” The word in Spanish for
“parent” is padre (father) or madre (mother). “parents” = los padres

pretender
= “to attempt, to try to.” “To pretend” = fingir.

la propaganda
Not only “propaganda” as we use it in English but also “advertising,”
“publicity.”

regular
In addition to having the meaning of “regular” in English, may also
mean “average,” “so-so,” “O.K.”
In answer to the question ¿Cómo estás?, means “so-so,” “O.K.”

sano
“Healthy” rather than “sane,” which is cuerdo/a. Note the expression
sano y salvo = “safe and sound.”

sensible
= “sensitive” in English. “Sensible” in English may be sensato,
cuerdo, razonable, de buen sentido. e.g. Es una persona muy
sensible. = “He is a very sensitive person.”

una sentencia
Means a “sentence” only in the judicial sense. May also mean “a
saying” or “proverb.” “Sentence” in the grammatical sense is “(una)
frase.”

simpático
This is one of the finest compliments that can be given to a person. It
is roughly the equivalent of “pleasant,” “charming,” “congenial.”
“Sympathetic” = compasivo, simpatizante.
un suceso
= “event, occurrence, happening.” The verb suceder means “to
happen to,” “to occur.” Remember, as we have mentioned, “success”
= éxito.

sujeto
Means “subject” only in the grammatical sense. It may also mean,
colloquially, “fellow, guy,” with a derogatory feel. A subject in school
is (la) asignatura, (la) materia, (el) curso. When it is the equivalent of
“topic,” “subject” = (el) tema. When it refers to a citizen of a country,
“subject” is súbdito or ciudadano.

tipo
Not only “type” as in “category,” but also used colloquially, with a
derogatory feel, for “guy” or “character.” e.g. No me gusta ese tipo.
= “I don’t like that guy.” Note the economic/financial term tipo de
cambio = “exchange rate” (of currency).